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Trial in Death of Haines City Rapper Begins

Defendant Jerry Pride looks over some notes at the start of his trial at the county courthouse in Bartow Tuesday. Pride is accused in the 2012 fatal shooting of Tibious Peterman, 20, a rapper known as Soap Money, on North Scenic Highway in Lake Wales.

PIERRE DUCHARME | THE LEDGER

By JASON GEARYTHE LEDGER

Published: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 3:18 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 11:45 p.m.

BARTOW | A prosecutor told Circuit Court jurors Tuesday that tensions inside a nightclub between two rival groups of young men from Lake Wales and Haines City erupted into deadly violence in the streets.

Jerry Pride Jr. is accused of spraying two cars with bullets last year, killing an aspiring rapper from Haines City.

Assistant State Attorney John Waters told jurors during opening statements that Pride's barrage put so many holes in one car that it looked like "Swiss cheese."

Amid the gunfire, Tibious Peterman was hit with a .22-caliber bullet that passed through his arm and into his chest, which caused fatal injuries, an arrest report states.

Peterman, 20, was a local performer who fans knew as Soda or Soap Money.

Pride faces charges of first-degree murder in Peterman's death.

He is also charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder for endangering the lives of other men who were in the cars.

Waters told jurors that Pride, 24, of Lake Wales, and his friends had a long-standing feud with a group of men from Haines City.

The animosity boiled over during the early morning hours of April 23, 2012, he said.

The two groups had been hanging out at a club called DeCosey's, Waters said.

"There is some tension going on inside the club," he said.

Some people anticipated a fight might occur later, but Pride wanted to "set up an ambush and shoot these boys from Haines City," Waters said.

After the club closed, Peterman was driving north on Scenic Highway in a gray Toyota and some of his friends were driving along in a green Lincoln.

They were going to get some food at a Denny's restaurant, Waters said.

A white sport utility vehicle pulled alongside, and Pride began firing from the front passenger seat at the Toyota and Lincoln with a .40-caliber pistol and a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle, Waters said.

A passenger in the Lincoln, Timothy Hendrix, was shot in the leg, but survived. The driver of the Lincoln, Jamison Wilson, and the passenger in Peterman's Toyota, Kevin Hobby, were not injured.

Pride's lawyer, Karen Meeks, told jurors that her client wasn't the gunman and he had gone to his grandmother's house before the attack took place.

Testimony began Tuesday and is expected to continue throughout this week.

Prosecutors say Brandon Nealy was the driver of the SUV that kept pace with the cars so the gunman could open fire.

Last year, a separate jury found Nealy, 23, of Lake Wales, guilty of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree attempted murder for taking part in the fatal ambush.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]

<p>BARTOW | A prosecutor told Circuit Court jurors Tuesday that tensions inside a nightclub between two rival groups of young men from Lake Wales and Haines City erupted into deadly violence in the streets.</p><p>Jerry Pride Jr. is accused of spraying two cars with bullets last year, killing an aspiring rapper from Haines City.</p><p>Assistant State Attorney John Waters told jurors during opening statements that Pride's barrage put so many holes in one car that it looked like "Swiss cheese."</p><p>Amid the gunfire, Tibious Peterman was hit with a .22-caliber bullet that passed through his arm and into his chest, which caused fatal injuries, an arrest report states.</p><p>Peterman, 20, was a local performer who fans knew as Soda or Soap Money.</p><p>Pride faces charges of first-degree murder in Peterman's death.</p><p>He is also charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder for endangering the lives of other men who were in the cars.</p><p>Waters told jurors that Pride, 24, of Lake Wales, and his friends had a long-standing feud with a group of men from Haines City.</p><p>The animosity boiled over during the early morning hours of April 23, 2012, he said.</p><p>The two groups had been hanging out at a club called DeCosey's, Waters said.</p><p>"There is some tension going on inside the club," he said.</p><p>Some people anticipated a fight might occur later, but Pride wanted to "set up an ambush and shoot these boys from Haines City," Waters said.</p><p>After the club closed, Peterman was driving north on Scenic Highway in a gray Toyota and some of his friends were driving along in a green Lincoln.</p><p>They were going to get some food at a Denny's restaurant, Waters said.</p><p>A white sport utility vehicle pulled alongside, and Pride began firing from the front passenger seat at the Toyota and Lincoln with a .40-caliber pistol and a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle, Waters said.</p><p>A passenger in the Lincoln, Timothy Hendrix, was shot in the leg, but survived. The driver of the Lincoln, Jamison Wilson, and the passenger in Peterman's Toyota, Kevin Hobby, were not injured.</p><p>Pride's lawyer, Karen Meeks, told jurors that her client wasn't the gunman and he had gone to his grandmother's house before the attack took place.</p><p>Testimony began Tuesday and is expected to continue throughout this week.</p><p>Prosecutors say Brandon Nealy was the driver of the SUV that kept pace with the cars so the gunman could open fire.</p><p>Last year, a separate jury found Nealy, 23, of Lake Wales, guilty of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree attempted murder for taking part in the fatal ambush. </p><p>He was sentenced to life imprisonment.</p><p>[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]</p>